Dr. Shwarth, the magic history professor, closes his copy of A Brief History of the Beginnings of Amel after his lecture and looks up at his students. "Now class, who can tell me the origin of magic?" the silver-haired professor says, peering through his thick glasses.
"It was given to the first masters through a pact with the dragons," a red-headed girl answers. "They gave it to mages to protect mankind from magical creatures in exchange for peace between the dragon and human races."
"Very good, Emily! Someone has been studying."
Emily is the only person who ever pays attention to magic history class. She sits up straight and smirks. The kid next to her rolls his brown eyes. A hand runs through his short, messy black hair as he sighs.
"I am assuming you are rolling your eyes because you want to answer my next question, Todd!" Dr. Shwarth glares at the boy through his glasses, making his eyes look huge. They focus on Todd with a subtle hatred that started when he slept through the entire first class period. He would have been fine, if he had not started snoring a half-hour into the lecture. "What were the terms of the dragon pact?"
"Well, umm, we agreed," Todd mumbles. He has no interest in magic or its history. Ever since he scored low on every school of Magic's aptitude test last year, his chances of being let into a school of magic next year are extremely low.
"I am considering failing you now and saving us both some time," Dr. Shwarth sneers. "Emily, will you help him?"
"The great dragon of fire, water, earth, wind, and darkness agreed to teach the first masters about magic and aid them in times of need. In return, the masters promised to learn to control this magic so that it would not corrupt them. They also agreed to train only 6 apprentices at a time and train a new master for every generation, allowing the human knowledge of magic to grow. Finally, the masters agreed to listen to the dragons and consult them on any decisions concerning human magical law," Emily answers. She smiles and folds her arms. Todd glares at her smug, freckled face.
"Very good, Emily, I wish everyone was as eloquent as you!" Dr. Shwarth shoots a sideways glance at Todd. The dark haired kid slumps in his chair and sighs. "Well, class is over, you should all study what Emily said today. If you know half as much as her, you will do just fine on next week's test. I don't usually say this, but she shows the signs of a great witch. She could be the next fire master at this rate! I hear her aptitude scores in fire magic are as high as her grades."
"Oh, that reminds me that I am supposed to remind you that the schools of magic will be visiting tomorrow for a meet and greet," the professor continues. "You can talk to the wizards and witches. They will also have aptitude testers so they can identify potential students!"
With that, class is dismissed. Todd is the first one out of the room, excited to be free from the creepy gaze of Dr. Shwarth. He just wishes that he left before the meet and greet came up. Todd remembers being excited about magic as a kid. Mystery, wonder, power, and exclusivity, being a wizard is the ideal dream profession. He always seemed to grasp concepts about magic easily and was sure he would be good at one form or another as a kid. Aptitude tests do not agree with him, though. They always show he has no ability, or potential, in any branch of magic.
"Hey wait!" A female voice calls out, but Todd pays no attention to it. He is far too preoccupied with his thoughts.
"Todd!" The voice calls again, this time accompanied by someone grabbing Todd's shoulder.
Turning around and jolting back to reality, Todd focuses on Emily. She stands behind him with a hand still on his shoulder. The two of them used to play together, often pretending to be masters of magic battling in tournaments or going on epic quests. That was before she was deemed a prodigy, and he was called a dud.
"Are you okay? You seemed down in class today," Emily asks.
"Yeah, I'm just bummed about the meet and greet," Todd admits. "My aptitude scores weren't great."
"I can imagine that's tough," Emily responds, looking down. "So... is that why you stopped hanging out with me?" She looks up at Todd but averts her gaze when their eyes meet.
"Oh, well, no...I mean, maybe? I never really thought about it, but I guess, I didn't think you still wanted me around. You are like the prodigy of our generation, and I'm nobody."
"Is that what you think I'm like?" She smiles and looks relieved. "I never knew you felt that way, or I would have said something sooner! I may have scored high on the aptitude test, but that doesn't make me better than you. If I tell you my secret to scoring so high on the test, can we go back to being friends?"
After a pause, she looks nervous. Todd realizes she is waiting for you to answer and stutters, "U-Umm, yeah!" Are you serious about a way to increase aptitude scores though? I mean, they were designed to show someone's true potential for magic. That's a fixed amount, right?"
"That is what they say, but the test is like a magic game. If you don't know how to play, you have to wing it. However, what if you had a copy of the game and could practice? Wouldn't you be better than someone who has never done it before?"
"It makes sense, but how do you practice when the principal of the school has the only aptitude test sets?"
"You can't. Unless you meet me in the old field where we used to play magic as kids after school today!" Emily nudges Todd and walks down the hall. "I have to go, but I'll see you later right?" The hallway begins to empty as the next round of classes is about to begin.
"Yeah, I guess so."
A huge grin spreads across Emily's face that reminds Todd of simpler times when they were still close friends. She walks away without another word, and he goes to his next class.